


... end in lovers' meeting (Part 2/2)

by RebeccaAnabelBurrows



Series: Journeys (including missing scenes and alternative parts) [2]
Category: DCU, Justice League - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Codependency, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-13 07:35:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29274804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebeccaAnabelBurrows/pseuds/RebeccaAnabelBurrows
Summary: The Bruces and Hals from the same universes are reuniting.Bruce and Hal from Journeys let their relationship take a new turn and talk about their experiences.
Relationships: Hal Jordan/Bruce Wayne, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: Journeys (including missing scenes and alternative parts) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2044636
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29





	1. Not Your Soulmate Universe

**Author's Note:**

> And I am back ! Once again, regularity is not really my thing but I aim to end this fic. 
> 
> This is the 2nd part of Journeys:  
> \- first part of each chapter will be Bruces and Hals reuniting,  
> \- second part will be the Bruce and Hal from Journeys navigating their relationship while discussing what happened in Journeys.
> 
> I don't think you can understand this fic well without having read the first part, but feel free to try.

In a blink, Hal had found himself in Bruce’s arms. He wondered if the disorientation came from the head injury he had suffered from recently. He didn’t remember how he had gotten there, just that he had been asking Clark about his soulmark. 

“Is Diana okay ?” he asked Bruce, pushing him away. 

Bruce frowned. Hal had been distraught ever since their announcement during the meeting but he looked even more upset at the moment.

“I think she reacted quite well. Is there -”

“You told her ? You could have - Nevermind, Clark’s soulmark is gone. Where is Diana ?” Hal asked. 

“What - no, I am sure Clark had it when we left the meeting room. What made you think about it ?” 

“I want to see Diana.” Hal said, shaking his head and going to the door.

Bruce followed him in the corridor.

“Hal, you don’t want to go back there now. Let hot heads cool off.”

“What are you talking about ? I have to see Diana.” Hal said through barred teeth. “Don’t you care ?”

And he left Bruce in the corridor, walking fast to the meeting room and breaking into it without a second thought. Murmurs stopped as Hal caught sight of Diana’s luxurious black hair.

“Diana !” Hal called and she turned around. 

He joined her. She looked the same as always, if a bit surprised. She had been talking to Clark, apparently. 

“Hal ?” she said with a touch of uncertainty as she watched Bruce walking toward them. 

“Are you alright ?” Hal asked, taking her hands in his. 

She was alive. Her skin was warm to the touch. Relief flooded Hal. 

“Yes. Are you ?” she said, squeezing his hands a bit too hard in return.

Those were the risks when you worked with people way more powerful than you. Hal turned to Clark, checking his face. 

“You still have your mark.” Hal noticed in a low tone, and he had to refrain to touch it. 

Diana was alright. She hadn’t died - she wasn’t Becky. Hal shook his head. He had thought he had accepted his soulmate’s death a decade ago. Apparently, things weren’t so simple and he got some lingering fears out of it. 

He thought of the blemish on his skin, the absence of a mark where there had been one once. But Clark’s soulmark was still there. Diana was fine. Nobody had died. 

“My - yes ? Is everything okay ?” Clark asked, touching his own face as if he could feel the mark under his fingertips. Maybe he could, with his enhanced senses. 

Diana brushed her hair away to touch her own soulmark in reaction, a similar double half-diamond placed on her temple.

“Hal. We should go back to our rooms.” Bruce said quietly, taking his arm. 

Hal had almost forgotten his presence but he didn’t jump. It had taken him some years to manage it but he was no longer jumping whenever Bruce surprised him. 

“I… okay.” he whispered back. 

He felt oddly empty. He let Bruce guide him back to their rooms silently, Bruce supporting him with a gauntleted hand in his back. 

“Is your head okay ?” Bruce asked him as he entered their room after Hal. 

“I am fine.” Hal murmured, sitting. 

Bruce closed the door behind him and then proceeded to sit on the bed next to his lover, their knees bumping. Hal refused to look at him stubbornly.

“You think I am inventing things.” he said, looking at the polished floor. 

Bruce started changing in his ordinary clothes - Hal was so lost in his thoughts he barely spared him a glance. 

“I think you’re overtired, emotionally affected and that you’re still healing from a bad injury.” Bruce said after some time. 

“That’s the same thing. You want me to be examined.” he said, his shoulders tense. 

The Lantern felt the weight and the warmth of Bruce’s arm wrapping around them. He could feel his muscles relaxing. 

“That would be my preference, yes. But I am going to settle for you resting for now. We’ll talk about what comes next after.” 

Hal sighed, looking up at the ceiling to dodge Bruce’s intense gaze. 

“Hal. I am sorry. I know you’re upset and I understand why - I wish it could have been different.” Bruce said, leaning his head against Hal’s shoulder.

It got Hal’s attention. He turned to look at Bruce, forgetting he had been avoiding to meet the perceptive eyes. 

“What do you mean ?” he asked, letting his fingers run through Bruce’s hair.

The cowl had messed it up again. 

“Less prejudice, more understanding. A kinder universe for people like you and me. A world like that has to exist, don’t you think ?” Bruce said. 

Hal froze, letting his hand fall at his side. Bruce almost growled at the loss of contact. 

“Can you repeat that ?” Hal asked urgently. 

Bruce frowned. He wasn’t sure what had bothered Hal in his sentence. 

“Less prejudice, more -” he repeated but he was cut off my Hal quickly. 

“No. You said that somewhere else not having a soulmate might be more accepted. You were surprised by my mark and Clark didn’t have one. What if…” Hal mused aloud. 

Bruce’s eyes were now quite full of confusion and a hint of worry. 

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about, Hal. And when would you have gone away ? You were with me when we came out to our friends and -” 

Hal interrupted him again. 

“I wasn’t. I swear I wasn’t. I don’t have that memory, and I swear it’s not because of the head injury.” Hal said firmly, looking straight into Bruce’s eyes. 

Bruce affronted his gaze without a word for a few seconds.

“Actually, it could make sense. That was why you seemed so out of it. It wasn’t you. That’s... a lot of things to absorb. How long have you been gone ? Do you know ?” Bruce asked. 

Hal made a face. It seemed he hadn’t been there for a rather defining moment of their lives and it was upsetting - he hadn’t been there to support Bruce and Bruce hadn’t been there to comfort him in a time of need. 

“Well, I had this strange sensation just before the meeting and then again - I didn’t remember how I went from our discussion in the corridor to our room, just before I asked you about Diana. Bruce, I am under the impression we didn’t go to the same meeting.” Hal said.

There was a few seconds of silence. 

“I outed us to our friends. I thought you were at my side but you weren’t, if I am understanding well ?” 

“Yup, didn’t happen wherever I was. I was late and you just started the meeting as if we had nothing to say, and then when I cornered you in the corridor to talk about it, you said to Clark’s face and mine that we weren’t in a relationship.” Hal said, wringing his hands together.

“Hal, how could you believe I would ever do something like that to you ? I told Clark about us not being soulmates a few months ago. I am not hiding you. I promised you, you do remember that ?” Bruce said with feeling. 

Hal nodded. 

“What did he say ?”

“He was supportive. He doesn’t mind. Many people don’t, you know.” Bruce said. “In the League, at least.” 

It was true, the League was a more understanding audience than many. 

“But some do care, right ? How was it ?” Hal asked. 

“Not as bad as you’re making it sound. People here respect our work. Some may need to adjust their worldview but they will do it. Let time do its work.” Bruce asserted.

“I wish I have been there too.” Hal said softly.

He didn’t doubt Bruce had been hurt by some reactions - you could never be sure of people’s reactions, and bracing yourself for it was rarely enough. You couldn’t always avoid the hurt. 

“Well, your replacement tried to play the part. Quite awkwardly, now that I think of it. Actually, maybe you not being there isn’t such a terrible thing. That other guy looked quite upset about how the event unrolled and he was a mere observer.” Bruce said. 

Hal shook his head at him. 

“You can’t protect me against the unfairness of the world.” he said. 

“Watch me.” Bruce answered stubbornly. 

Hal laughed quietly. 

“God, I am missing yesterday. Everything seemed so simple.” he said quietly. 

“I know.” Bruce said, letting his head fall on Hal’s shoulder again. 

“Can’t we just ignore today ?” Hal asked. 

“No. But it can get better.” Bruce said, kissing Hal’s neck. 

Hal wrapped an arm around him. 

“You think ?” he asked. 

“Yes. That’s something you’re good at. Making things go better.” Bruce said, looking up a little. 

Hal captured his lips with his. 

“I love you, you know that ?”

“I do. I love you too, Hal. So much.”

********************************************************************************************************

“Okay, now that we’re comfortable, tell me. What happened when I was gone ?” Hal asked. 

Bruce and he were having coffee in the manor’s kitchen. 

Hal had woken up several times in the night, only to feel Bruce’s arms tightening around him and a sleepy, raspy voice muttering “it’s me”. So Hal had gone back to sleep until the sun was quite high in the sky and Bruce deemed them sufficiently rested to allow Hal to get out of bed. 

Afterwards, they had showered and changed. Hal had borrowed some clothes to Bruce that fitted him better than he would have expected. And then they retreated to the kitchen. Alfred had settled the table for a late breakfast despite Hal’s protests and left the room, pretending he needed to attend to the garden.  
Hal had caught him and Bruce in the middle of a battle of glares right before the butler’s departure. 

They had eaten breakfast almost silently and cleared the table. Bruce had offered to make coffee. They were now facing each other, Hal leaning against the table and Bruce against a countertop, about a meter away. 

They had been staring at each other for a while when Hal had spoken. 

“So, tell me, what happened that first day ?” he asked, taking a sip of his drink. 

Bruce assessed him for a few seconds before talking. Hal already looked better than he had earlier. There was more life in his eyes.

“You were late at the meeting, it started without you. But when you went there, you kept glaring daggers at me. You followed me when the meeting ended. I had no idea why, our arguments tend to be public.” Bruce started explaining.

He took a sip of his coffee and Hal did the same, waiting. 

“You started complaining about my lack of attention towards you and then you got upset about something I was supposed to remember. You were quite emotional about it.” Bruce said, remembering. 

That Hal had seemed quite devastated. The Hal in front of him made a face. 

“Coming out. They were supposed to come out as non-soulmates to their friends. And stop saying ‘you’. I wasn’t there.” 

Bruce nodded his understanding. That would explain it. 

“Ah. I tried to direct you to the medbay because something was obviously wrong.”

“And you came to the obvious conclusion that it was my brain.” Hal snortled.

Bruce shrugged. Hal didn’t know how it had looked like back then. 

“You were talking about our family life. I am sure you would have done the same if our situations have been reversed.” 

It had been so disturbing to hear Hal talk about his family as if it was his. Bruce had never thought he would share his family life with someone else that way.  
He had more or less serious relationships before, but never with someone interested in being part of a family.

Bruce shook his head to let his thoughts go and met Hal’s patient gaze. 

“I asked Clark to check on Hal. He said it was you but that there was a noticeable mark on your arm. Hal’s arm, I mean. Hal looked quite upset at its mention. He said we were involved and looked furious when I denied it.” 

Hal chuckled softly.

“Must have been awkward.”

“You have no idea. Clark kept looking at me as if you and I were having a secret affair I’ve kept from him. Hal looked quite hurt. He said he had had a soulmate and that she had died. It sounded metaphorical but then -” Bruce said, not finishing his sentence. 

He paused as he remembered that Hal’s face, and the tenseness of it. 

“Then ?” the Hal in his kitchen coaxed. 

“He said that he and I - well, Bruce, really - weren’t soulmates. It seemed to be quite a revelation. I thought he was hallucinating or something. He said something about Clark not having a mark - apparently he should have had one. Hal thought it meant Diana was in trouble. And then he changed places with another Hal but it took Clark and I a few minutes to figure things out.” Bruce concluded.

“Clark and Diana were soulmates in this world, then. It’s not the only world where it happens. Do you know if they’re involved in our universe ?” Hal asked, tilting his head. 

Bruce took his time to answer. Surely Diana and Clark wouldn’t thank him for sharing what he knew but he doubted Hal would share it with anyone else. 

“They had something, a few years back. It didn’t last.” he said briefly. 

“And now ?” Hal grinned. 

Bruce rolled his eyes at him and Hal laughed. “That’s really you, uh ?” he said, smiling. 

“Yes, it’s me. And that's why I am not playing matchmaker with you.” 

“Come on, it would be fun.” Hal said with exaggerated enthusiasm, leaning forward to touch Bruce’s shoulder briefly. 

They had become much more comfortable with touching each other lately. Almost needed it. They would have to address this at some point. But not now. 

“Tell me about what happened to you when that other Hal was here.” Bruce asked. 

“I went to the meeting with Bruce and he said to the rest of the League that we weren’t soulmates. I was a bit more shocked by the fact that everyone seemed to think we were a couple so I didn’t pay it that much attention at first but I knew pretty quickly that I wasn’t in the right place.” Hal explained. 

He stopped then, wondering what to say next. He didn’t have to think about it for long, as Bruce spoke again. 

“Hal seemed to think that not being soulmates wasn’t good. How bad did the others take it ?” he asked. 

“The atmosphere went quite tense. He made us leave and we talked in a room. Ours, it would seem. I think he was trying to comfort me. He told me that soulmates were only important for society, that it didn’t have to affect us much.” Hal said.

Kind, loving words. Hal remembered them well but he didn’t want Bruce to freak out. Well, Bruce had cuddled with him all night, maybe he wouldn’t be scared of affectionate words. 

“That’s all ?” Bruce asked, as if he was reading Hal’s mind. 

“There isn’t that much to say. Well, you were taking your suit off as we talked, so I may have missed a thing you said or two.” Hal said, smirking. 

“He, Hal, he. I wasn’t there.” Bruce said, laughing quietly.

Hal waited for a second to answer it, wondering how much he should share. What he wanted to share. 

“Yes, he. He was about to kiss me when I jumped dimensions a second time.” 

“Really ?” Bruce said.

“Really. I didn’t get my kiss.” Hal said, looking pointedly at Bruce. 

“I’ll fix this.” Bruce answered. 

He put down his cup of coffee, now empty. Hal mirrored him and waited as Bruce took a step in his direction. Another one and he was in Hal’s space. 

Smiles were shared. A strand of hair was brushed away. Hands wrapped around necks. Heads tilted. Lips brushed hesitantly.

And then they were kissing. Softly at first, but it took a passionate turn quickly. 

“I’ve wanted to do that all morning.” Hal said when they separated.

“You only had to ask.” Bruce answered, smiling against his lips.

Their foreheads were touching. It felt nice. And then -

Then, the door burst open and one of them must have jumped because they bonked heads. Hal hissed and Bruce bore his hand to his forehead as other people invaded the room. 

“Hal !” some of them cried happily.

“Tell me why we told them you were back, again ?” Bruce muttered, taking a step back. 

Jessica, Barry, Oliver, Dinah, Diana and Clark were all there, babbling about how great it was to have their friend back. 

Bruce sighed, massaging his skull. No doubt he was going to have a bump on his forehead. He was about to leave the room and let Hal to those reunions when he felt a tug on his sleeve. 

“Bruce.” 

Hal’s eyes met his. His hand was on his elbow.

“I am going to give them a light summary of what happened but if you still want to talk about the whole thing, we can do that after, right ?” he asked.

“Of course. We can do that.” Bruce nodded his assentiment. 

“Do you want us out of the Manor ? We could go out -” Hal started saying but Bruce stopped him. 

“No, no. It’s good. Plenty of room here. However you should take your fanclub to the living-room, it would be more comfortable. I’ll be in my study.”

“I didn’t want to prevent you to stay with us -” 

“Hal, it’s alright. You’ll tell me all about it later. We can’t stay glued to each other all day. I won’t disappear, and you won’t either.” Bruce asserted, holding Hal’s wrist in his hand. 

Hal nodded, unable to say anything. He knew Bruce was right. It didn’t make their separation all that easy.


	2. What's your number ? Universe

“Wow. I feel dizzy again. Am I back ?” Hal mumbled as he took in his new surroundings, leaning on the table right in front of him. 

He had spoken more for himself than for anyone else even if he could perceive a familiar figure nearby.

The decor was spinning a bit but it looked like he was no longer at the Watchtower. The place looked more like Bruce’s penthouse with a hint of a blur to it. 

“Hal !” Bruce sighed with relief, taking a step forward to get closer to him. 

Hal closed his eyes for a second and opened them again after a few seconds. 

“You missed me ?” he asked with an amused smile as his sight went right and he could distinguish Bruce better. 

Bruce was near enough to touch him. He didn't answer, embracing Hal lightly instead. The Lantern responded in kind. They stayed that way for some time, just appreciating each other’s presence until Bruce broke their embrace and let Hal breathe. He may have hugged Hal a bit tighter than he had intended. 

“I didn’t think you would notice the difference.” Hal said as they separated.

Bruce threw him a hard glare but kept a light tone when he spoke. 

“Well your replacement wasn’t as annoying as you. That and he freaked out quite intensely when he woke up in bed with me.” Bruce said.

There were dark shadows under his eyes. There might be some under Hal’s too, they had woken up quite early. Hal held back a yawn. 

“That other Bruce looked quite stunned when I told him about our relationship at first. Apparently, he and Hal aren’t soulmates." Hal revealed. 

Bruce hummed his agreement and started making some coffee without waiting for Hal to ask for it. Both of them rarely refused caffeine. 

His and Hal’s observations matched. They’ve met a Bruce and a Hal from the same place, it would seem. Well, they hadn’t had enough evidence to be certain for now, but Bruce had the feeling that Hal’s rapport would match his too. 

"They aren’t sleeping together either from what I've gathered." Bruce said, glaring at the coffee-maker as if it would make it work faster. 

"Yet.” Hal pointed out and Bruce had his back to him but he could have sworn that Hal was smiling. “It took us quite some time to get there too and Bruce did protest too much.” 

Bruce turned around just to roll his eyes at him. Hal laughed at the familiar move. It was good to be back home. 

"That had nothing to do with you nagging at him, of course." Bruce said, handing him a mug.

Hal shrugged, offering Bruce a lopsided smile before taking a sip of the hot beverage.

“What the fuck ? Who drinks entire mugs of black coffee ? Do you hate yourself that much ?” Hal said, no longer smiling, looking at his mug with murderous intentions. 

“Sorry. Habit. Tim drinks it that way too.” Bruce shrugged. “I don’t have any sugar, but we can-”

“It’s fine.” Hal said, grimacing and putting his mug back on the countertop. “What were we talking about, anyway ? Oh yes, you were being mean. I wasn’t nagging at Bruce. I was my usual charming self.” he stated, bumping shoulders with Bruce. 

Bruce pushed him away in protestation but not too hard. Hal would have retaliated if Bruce’s mug hadn’t still been full. 

"As I was saying, your charming self takes some time to grow on people. How long did you give Bruce before exposing him to our sex life ?"

"Not much but that might be because I didn't know it wasn't you at first." Hal said, shrugging. 

"Like you stopped once you've been made aware of it." Bruce snorted. 

Hal looked at him with fondness - Bruce knew him too well. 

"It was way too amusing. Well it could have been even more amusing if Bruce wasn’t such a gentleman.” 

“Having good manners isn’t a shortcoming, Jordan.” Bruce protested on the other man’s behalf but his voice stayed soft. 

“Because you were so polite when I came to the Manor to apologize.” Hal laughed. 

Bruce let Hal’s laughter bathe the room for a few seconds before countering.

“You managed to insult me as you apologized, if I remember well.” 

Hal offered him a sheepish smile, but it was soon replaced by an amused expression. 

“Your memory is surprisingly good for your age. I am impressed.”

“You’re only a couple of years younger than me.”

“Each month counts, old man.” Hal said with a serious face, patting Bruce’s shoulder.

“Hopefully this isn’t true because we lost quite some time with your obliviousness.” 

Bruce’s voice wasn’t devoid of reproach and Hal just couldn’t let it go. He wasn’t the one who messed this up. Well, not the only one in any case. 

“My obliviousness ? What about your communication issues ? You could just have told me we were soulmates, you know. Instead of hiding it from me.” 

Bruce gritted his teeth and looked away from Hal. 

“I didn’t hide it from you. I didn’t mention it because I thought you were embarrassed by our bond.” 

Hal’s voice softened then and he closed his hand over Bruce’s. 

“I am not ashamed of you, you fucking idiot. We can tell our friends that we’re dating at the next meeting, for all I care.” he said. 

The sincerity in his voice was overwhelming. Bruce didn’t look away this time, and Hal thought he saw the corner of his mouth twitch for a second.

“You’ve insulted me again.” was the only thing Bruce said but he turned his hand into Hal’s to join them. 

“I think it’s due to our relationship dynamics. The other Bruce I met made snide comments about Hal every once in a while when he forgot he was worried about him.” 

“You’re making the relationship dynamics thing up because you think it sounds clever. I thought you said Bruce was a gentleman.”

"Um um. If you say so. And well, Bruce was very respectful of Hal's sensibilities." Hal said, letting go of Bruce’s hand to brush a strand of hair away from his eyes. 

Bruce sighed and shook his head, looking at his soulmate.

"That's called decency, Hal." 

Hal laughed and moved closer to Bruce. 

“I don’t think Hal would have minded that much. I don't mind you being indecent, personally." he murmured in his ear.

Bruce refused to let their proximity distract him. 

"I noticed. How do you feel ?" he asked, looking at Hal with a certain tenderness in his eyes.

Hal quirked an eyebrow at him, his smile broadening slightly as he leaned toward Bruce again, tilting his head. 

"What do you think ?" Hal said softly before moving even closer.

Bruce let Hal kiss him for a bit but held his hands back when they started wandering on his body. 

"Hal. Later. That's not what I was asking and you're smart enough to have figured it out. I want to know about your physical and mental state. Are you alright ? You said you were feeling dizzy and travelling through dimensions can't be that comfortable."

Hal avoided Bruce's gaze. Damn his soulmate. Bruce’s hand went to Hal’s chin to lift it slowly. Hal met his eyes for a few seconds before looking down again. 

"My head is getting better every minute. That and I think my whole body made it." he said, looking ostensibly at his fingers. "Yup, everything seems alright. Maybe the little one is a bit crooked, what do you think ?" he asked with amusement.

Bruce's lips tightened.

"Hal, don't be - can you be serious for a minute ? I want to know if you're okay. You've been thrown in a world that wasn't yours where you've met people looking a lot like the ones you know but weren't them. It couldn't have been easy."

Nobody said a word for nearly a minute, Bruce waiting for Hal to talk and resigning himself to the fact he probably wasn't going to and Hal giving himself some time to keep his composure. 

Hal had started pacing and stopped when he had realized it before crossing his arms on his chest. He had tried to fight the compulsion but had given up after some time - Bruce would have noticed his vulnerability either way. 

"It hasn't been." Hal muttered, looking at his feet. "Easy, I mean."

Bruce hugged him from behind and took his hands in his. Hal intertwined their fingers, his gaze focusing on them. 

"Hal. Talk to me." his partner said softly, massaging his scalp. 

He had positioned them this way so Hal wouldn’t have to look at him if he didn’t want to but Hal turned his head around a bit before he turned back to look straight at the wall. 

"For a few moments, I thought - what if I couldn't come back ? And I had to find an excuse to get away from Bruce because he looked like you and he wasn't bad but he wasn't you and it was quite upsetting. It was a bit much." 

Bruce held him tight. Hal turned around and leaned on him as much as he could, burying his face against Bruce's neck. 

"I am sorry, Hal."

"It's okay. I am back." Hal said in a muffled tone before letting go of Bruce enough to look at him. 

"I know and I am really glad for it." Bruce answered. 

"How was it, there ? Realizing that man wasn't me ?" Hal asked. 

"Disturbing. And stressful." Bruce said after a few seconds. “I hated it.” 

"You were worried about me ?" Hal asked with a small smile.

"Am I not always ?" Bruce sighed. “Why don’t we go back to bed ? I am exhausted and you look like it too.”

“Flatterer.” Hal said, yawning as he let Bruce lead him to the bedroom he had left way too soon. 

**************************************************************************************************

“That saying is shit.” Hal proclaimed as he pushed open the door of Bruce’s study. 

“Which one are you referring to ?” Bruce asked, undisturbed by both Hal’s irruption and his remark so out of the blue. 

The door slammed and Bruce refrained to wince. Hopefully Alfred wouldn’t have heard this or Bruce was going to suffer through another lecture about how taking your anger out on the furniture didn’t solve problems. The last one had been more than fifteen years ago and Bruce remembered it clearly. 

“Out of sight, out of mind.” Hal said, slouching in a chair and grabbing a piece of paper on Bruce’s desk. 

Bruce tried not to smile when he noticed Hal was making a paper plane out of it and frowned instead.

“That paper could have been important.”

“There’s nothing written on it.” Hal said, shrugging. “Besides, you can still unfold it.” he said as he let the paper plane land on one of the shelves. 

“That way you’ll think about me too when I am not here.” he didn’t say, but the message was clear enough for Bruce.

“You were saying your reunion with our friends had been difficult ? I didn’t think you would have enough time to yourself to miss me.” Bruce observed. 

He had tidied up the file he had been working on and was now focusing all his attention on Hal. 

“That’s not how it works. It’s visceral, Bruce. I couldn’t keep my eyes away from the door after you walked out of the room. Oliver even made a joke about it but Dinah made him shut up before he drew everyone’s attention to it. That was the longest hour of my existence.” Hal said. 

Bruce could see that the admission cost him. He stood up and opened his arms. Hal didn’t need to be asked twice, he was in Bruce’s arms a second after.  
“Come here. It’s still me. You have not stayed in any other world for that long, you’re not going to disappear on us again, and I am not going to change places unexpectedly either." Bruce said, rubbing circles on Hal’s back as Hal’s arms tightened around him. 

It was starting to feel a bit like hugging a boa constrictor. 

“I wanted to believe this so much but for now I just can’t. I - I just can’t hang on to that hope because if it doesn’t work and I am pulled into another world, I need to be prepared for it. It was bad enough the first time.” Hal said. 

“Hal, it isn’t going to happen. This is a valid fear, but still an unreasonable one.” 

Bruce’s tentative rationalization of the situation didn’t work as he intended. Instead of reassuring Hal, it seemed to make him feel worse. However, he loosened a bit his grip on Bruce, and the man’s ribs were grateful for it. 

“Really, Bruce ? What do you know about it ? Your beliefs are based on an interpretation of something a divine entity told you while you were intoxicated. And you think I am the one being unreasonable, here ? I am the realist, in this instance. You’re the one overly optimistic.” Hal snapped. 

“I should be taking notes, but I am afraid nobody would believe me if I told them you accused me of optimism.” 

“You’re being so - I am tired, Bruce. I don’t want to fight with you again. I just want - I don’t know, some peace and quiet, maybe.” Hal said, closing his eyes. 

“Do you want me to leave you alone ?” Bruce asked, already getting to the door but Hal held him back by his wrist. 

“No ! I need you there. I enjoy talking with you, just not like that. I just want to have a light conversation with you.” Hal said. 

Bruce nodded and they both sat back, Hal on Bruce’s desk after discarding a stack of papers and getting a murderous glare for it. Bruce joined the palms of his hands. 

“Do you want me to tell you about the Hal who thought I would appreciate knowing more about what he did with Bruce the night before ? He thought I could use that kind of input to my advantage.” Bruce started saying. 

It had the expected effect - Hal’s face softened as he laughed. He laughed so much that tears formed in his eyes. Bruce stared at him, mesmerized. 

“He didn’t ? Oh, I love this one. What did he tell you ? What ? Don’t you want me to do some fact checking on this ?” Hal asked once he had stopped laughing.

His face was still relaxed, serene as it hadn’t been a few seconds ago. 

“I didn’t let him talk. That was only the second Hal and I thought you wouldn’t be so keen on me knowing that much about you.” Bruce said.

Not that he would have let the last Hals tell him things he wasn’t certain Hal would be comfortable to share with him. 

“Um. Second Bruce… Which one was it, again ? I bet you have a chart with all of them.”

Bruce refused to deny or confirm for the chart. 

“He and Hal had just slept together but they didn’t seem to have been in a relationship for long.” he told Hal. 

“Oh, this one ! Yes, I remember.” 

Hal stayed oddly quiet for a few seconds and Bruce noticed his shoulders shaking and a tear rolling down his cheek. He wiped it with his thumb and was about to offer some words of comfort when he noticed that Hal was laughing.

“Back there, it sucked but in retrospect, he and I had interesting conversations. Oh, this is so embarrassing.” 

“What happened ?” Bruce asked with curiosity. 

“I freaked out a bit when I realized we were both in bed, naked. To my defense, the previous Bruce and I were mostly dressed barely a few seconds before.” Hal explained.

“Mostly dressed ?” Bruce asked, raising an eyebrow.

“As I said earlier, he didn’t seem too bothered as he undressed in front of me. However I have not seen him fully naked. And I was very much dressed. Sure, the view was really good but the sudden change was a bit distressing.” Hal said, shaking his head. 

“How did it go ?” Bruce asked. 

“He was very kind and considerate with me even if I basically kicked him out of his bed in the middle of the night and he thought I was on drugs.” 

Bruce closed his eyes to better imagine the scene a second before he realized his mistake. Imagining Hal naked wasn’t productive at all. 

“Poor man.” 

“He was quite anxious about Hal’s absence.” Hal added as an afterthought. 

“So was I about yours.” Bruce said quietly. “That and my taste in guys.” he added to lighten the atmosphere. 

“As you said, I am home. For now.” Hal answered with seriousness. “Your taste is flawless. Mine is more dubious.” he added. “Oh, and we may have a problem.”

“What do you mean ? Do you feel like you’re going to change dimensions ?” Bruce asked, grabbing Hal’s sleeve. 

“No, nothing of the sort. It’s just that our teammates are speculating on our love lives. I didn’t say anything about it but they must have noticed that we were a couple in quite some dimensions.” Hal said, not really looking at Bruce. 

“And they must have come to the logical conclusion that we could be too. Or already are. Is that it ?”

“Well, they didn’t ask me directly but I think it’s because I’ve only been back for a few hours. I could hear some murmurs. That, and something Jessica said to me.” 

Hal looked at Bruce from the corner of his eye. Bruce nodded, waiting for Hal to continue his narration. 

“When she hugged me goodbye, she said that turtlenecks looked good on me.” 

“She isn’t wrong, you can’t blame her taste.” Bruce said distractedly.

Hal thought it meant Bruce was misreading the situation, missing social cues somehow. 

“I think she assumed - “ Hal insisted, just in case. 

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“Hal, I don’t want to break your lovely bubble too abruptly but as you said most of them are aware of the other Bruces and Hals’ relationships and you’ve been staying here. I would be worried about their deductive abilities if they weren’t quite certain we’re at the very least sleeping together. And of course you wearing my clothes didn’t help.” 

“But you were the one who said - you wanted them to see me wearing your clothes.” Hal realized. 

“It saves time. They were going to assume things anyway.” Bruce said, brushing it off. 

“You could have asked for my opinion ! What was that ? Did you want to _mark_ me somehow ? What kind of possessive bullshit is that ?” 

“I wanted you to be comfortable in clean clothes. Ulterior motives were only secondary to that. And I thought you said you didn’t want to argue.” 

For a few seconds, they just glared at each other. Hal yielded first. 

“You don’t make it easy. I’ll let it slide for now, but don’t think we won’t talk about it at some point. But I admit the fabric is really comfortable.” Hal said, glancing down at the turtleneck he was wearing. “You think I look good in it ?” 

“It’s not really your size but you're wearing _my_ clothes, I am not complaining.” Bruce said. “And you’d look good in anything.” he didn’t say, because that was a bit more sappy than needed. 

"I am not used to turtlenecks. They don't go well with Californian weather."

"You could have more occasions to wear them if you visit more often. Winters in Gotham are quite cold." Bruce said.

"You'd think that hanging out with a billionaire would mean idyllic private islands but I am actually going to spend my next holidays in the gloomiest city in existence, how fucked up is that ?" Hal said, shaking his head. 

Bruce just smiled at him as someone knocked on the door. Bruce’s smile disappeared.

“Who is it ?” Hal asked.

“Only two people knock, here. One of them would have already opened the door facing a lack of answer…” Bruce started saying as he got to the door. 

“And the other is a Midwestern alien whose presence means trouble.” Bruce said as he opened the door himself to reveal Clark’s large frame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N : “Out of sight, out of mind” isn’t as nice an equivalent for “Far from the eyes, far from the heart” (that’s the literal translation of a French saying) as I would like, which means my brain has started to plan another version of this half-chapter that I may write in like 3 years or so because I think the original saying has potential but I have a lot of things related to Journeys to write before.


End file.
